After playing six seasons with the New York Giants, Saquon Barkley recently signed a three-year deal, worth $37.75 million, with his former inter-divisional rival Philadelphia Eagles. That is to say, Barkley's new head coach, Nick Sirianni, said he will be using this as bragging rights every time a Giants fan talks trash to him.
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"You know sometimes you see Giants fans around here with it being so close, and you know, they give me a good like, 'Hey, go Giants,'" Sirianni said in an interview with reporters. "And I typically let it go, but if the guy gets me good enough, I usually say, 'You know, we got your best player.'"
"We got your best player 🤷🏻♂️"
Nick Sirianni on his casual jab back at Giants fans who chirp at him 😂 pic.twitter.com/Lgl9K0RKqG
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) June 4, 2024
Needless to say, Sirianni is relieved that Barkley is now wearing a green uniform instead of the dark blue uniform that he was so accustomed to seeing his former rival have on.
Barkley has played nine career games vs. the Eagles, in which he has carried the ball 138 times for 615 yards (4.5 average), to go along with seven touchdowns.
During the OTA interviews Tuesday, Sirianni reflected back on how all throughout practice Barkley was making his new teammates miss tackles.
"I wasn't happy that our defensive player missed the tackle on this particular one, but I'm really happy that Saquon, that No. 26, is on our side, making the guy miss."
The Eagles had a deep running back depth chart last season, which was lead by first-time Pro Bowler D'Andre Swift, who accumulated 1,049 rush yards on 229 carries. Nevertheless, Swift has since agreed to a 3-year/$24 million dollar contract with the Chicago Bears this offseason.
Barkley will take the role of the main three-down back in Philadelphia for the 2024 season, which is yet another weapon for the Eagles' high powered offense. Being led by quarterback Jalen Hurts, and returning star wide-outs AJ Brown and Devonta Smith, the Eagles have also added speedster Paris Campbell to play the slot-receiver position.
When viewing Sirianni's offensive gameplan, the Eagles will certainly force feed Barkely the ball, as the team ranked sixth last season in rushing attempts (510) and eighth in rushing yards (2,190).
Notably, since being drafted with the second overall pick in the 2018 draft by the Giants, Barkley has accumulated 7,311 yards from scrimmage (5,211 rush; 2,100 rec) and 47 total touchdowns (35 rush; 12 rec).
Barkley will match up against his former team during Week 7, when he returns to MetLife Stadium; the Eagles will play the Giants on October 20 at 1:00 pm ET.
Related: Nick Sirianni Talks Trash On The Field Before Eagles Vs. 49ers
